(WWJ) A massive effort is underway to get residents back online after more than 500,000 DTE customers remain without power.
During Wednesday's storms, damaging wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour caused extensive damage across DTE’s service territory — including more than 3,100 downed wires, broken poles and tree-related damage, the utility said.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference, DTE Senior Vice President Heather Rivard said some people won't have power back until next week. Although, she said, they're hoping to have 50,000 customers restored by the end of Thursday, and "a majority" by the end of the day Friday.
Power for more than 150,000 customers was restored by Thursday night, with the hope that "a majority" will have the lights back on by the end of Friday.
As of 7 a.m. on Friday, DTE said over 520,000 customers were still without power, as steamy temperatures continue to hover around metro Detroit.
DTE added that more than 1,500 crew members will be working in 16-hour shifts around the clock, alongside 1,000 additional contractors called in from out-of-state to assist in restoration efforts.
When storms of this size leave extensive damage in their wake, DTE said crews must first arrive on each scene to assess the extent of damage, as well as determine the number and types of crews and equipment required to safely restore power to impacted customers.
Complicating matters, Rivard said:
"We've been combating, right now, some current new outages coming through due to the heat. And some additional isolated thunderstorms that are expected to come through the territory (tonight) might slow as down a little bit...which is why we are trying to be very cautious with our estimates."
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Stressing that customer safety is the company's "number one priority," DTE reminded the public to always at least 20 feet away from all power lines and anything they’re in contact with, and consider them energized and extremely dangerous.
Customers should also heed the warning of yellow caution tape, which indicates there is a downed power line in the area, and never cross yellow tape when they come across it.
Counting DTE and Consumers Energy customers combined, nearly 850,000 homes and businesses in Michigan lost power at some point on Wednesday. That's the most for the region in several years.
As of Friday morning, Consumers Energy says crews have restored power to nearly half of the 371,000 homes and businesses that were knocked off the grid on Wednesday. The utility hopes to have most of the power restored by Saturday night.
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According to the National Weather Service, two rounds of thunderstorms impacted the region on August 11: the first during the afternoon and the second during the late evening, into the next morning.
The first round produced widespread severe wind gusts across the area between 3 and 5 p.m., damaging power lines and trees and knocking out power.
A wind gust of 75 mph was measured in Mt. Clemens and prompted the issuance of NWS Detroit's first "Destructive" Severe Thunderstorm Warning.
The next round of storms tracked eastward across the region after 10 p.m., with prolonged heavy rain that led to massive flooding overnight.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean Devore said the front moving in Thursday night will bring slightly cooler, more comfortable temperatures to metro Detroit for the weekend ahead.
And perhaps the best update: Saturday, Sunday and Monday should be rain-free.
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